Popping Through The Player

      At the risk of reading like one of those insipid LiveJournal entries ("What I'm listening to..."), sitting today at the computer with a few shuffle set for the musical accompaniment, I was surprised by the odd combination that came up, a playlist rather appropriate but nonetheless quite eclectic.   Here's the baker's dozen, as they came up:

1. "Because the Night," by 10,000 Maniacs (live, unplugged)
2. "Cold Sweat," a (kickin') live cover by James Brown and Wilson Pickett
3. "Down The Road Tonight," by Bruce Hornsby
4. "No Alibis," by Eric Clapton
5. "Kiss That Frog," by Peter Gabriel
6. "How Do You Stop," by James Brown
7. "There Is A War," by Leonard Cohen (live 90s version)
8. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," by The Righteous Brothers
9. "Back In The High Life Again," by Steve Winwood (with James Taylor)
10. "If I Should Fall Behind," by Bruce Springsteen
11. "I Hung My Head," by Johnny Cash
12. "Night Parade," by Robbie Robertson
13. "Crazy Love," by Ray Charles and Van Morrison (live)

Sorry, ladies, not many female voices in there, save for Natalie Merchant's from 10,000 Maniacs-- on an album which I'm sure I have not listened to in over a decade. You'll also probably notice that the performers are almost all "Big Names," which is probably an indicator of something.   Yes, I'm a canonist, un-afarking-bashedly.   No rap, no techno, no hip-hop; not a trendy song in the lot.   Infer what you will.   In the meantime, I'm flippin' back to James B; it's time to make it funky.